First & Last
by alliehurry
Summary: My best friend ran away with my boyfriend. Damn it, I'm really going to miss her. AH/AU
1. Prologue

**A/N: **I don't own Twilight. Any similarities or references belong to their own persons.

**Prologue **

_My best friend_

We were four when we met, two little girls on the playground enjoying what little sun this rainy town could offer. I was immediately enthralled with the only other girl at the park; grateful for an escape from the mud games the other little boys we're trying to convince me to play. I had walked right up to her and announced to her, "I'm Isabella Swan and you're my new best friend." Despite her show of reluctance about not being able to choose whom her best friend was, she and I have been inseparable ever since.

_Ran away_

I opened the door, slightly annoyed that anyone would be knocking on it at eight am on a Sunday morning and was surprised to see Angela Webber standing on my porch with a letter in her hand. I mentally huffed in annoyance, just because she was the minister's daughter and was obligated to be up so early on Sundays did not mean that she could force that upon the rest of us.

"I know this seems strange, but someone left this tapped to my car with instructions to hand it to you," she handed me a sealed enveloped and gave me a small smile before heading back to her car. Confused, I opened it up and started to read it.

Dear B,

I'm sorry.

No, I'm more than sorry. Sorry can't even begin to describe how I feel about what I'm doing; yet I'm doing it anyways. I know you and I had planned on going away to college together, since forever. I'm talking in the past tense because, well, it's not happening B. I'm sorry I didn't tell you, I didn't know how! But it doesn't matter because, now I'm gone. I cancelled my application to NYU. I'm going off to college, don't worry, just not NYU. I can't tell you where I'm going or who I'm going with. You're probably (by this point of my letter) seriously mad me. I can deal with that. But I can't tell you more because then you would hate me. Although, I guess it doesn't matter because we'll probably never see each other again.

You're my best friend B, you'll always be the best friend I'll ever have and I don't deserve you one bit. These past 14 years have been amazing.

I'm Sorry.

_With my boyfriend_

The wind was just cool enough to keep me at perfect temperature on this strangely hot summer night in Forks, Washington. Although physically, I was at a perfectly normal body temperature, I was burning inside. I had always watched movies about how when a girl loses her virginity to the right guy the stars align and everything clicks. Thanks to some gruelling sex-ed classes courtesy of Coach Clapp, I had come to terms with the fact that the real version was a lot less glamorous, but at this moment, everything from the movies was coming true.

"Are you sure you're ready for this B?" he whispered into my neck as he pampered me with kisses.

"You love me, right? You'll always be here for me?" I got out in a strained voice between breaths that sounded a lot more like pornstar-moans. My hands spread out and grabbed a fistful of sand, reminding me that we were currently on Third Beach in La Push and that someone could walk in on us at any time, although at this point I couldn't seem to care.

"I will never leave you."

_Damn,_

You know those overly dramatic Hollywood movies that always make it really big in the box office because the plot is just so damn sad? Well you know how there's always that one scene where the main character breaks down and starts bawling his or her eyes out, screaming and crying uncontrollably and everyone in the theatre is either really uncomfortable or crying too?

Yeah, that's me right now. My clothes, face and the driver's seat of my car are completely soaked and for once it has nothing to do with the temperature outside. I can't remember the last time I cried; now I can't stop.

_I'm really going to miss her. _

I grabbed my oversized hand bag that had somehow been accepted as a carry on and walked over to the boarding station where two overly peppy flight attendants with fake smiles practically painted on were checking everyone's passports and boarding passes. Thankfully, that was over fast and I walked anxiously to the middle section of the plane and sat down in the window seat. Fifteen minutes later, the plane was getting ready for take off. I finally looked away from the window and glanced at the empty seat beside me. My heart felt like it was being torn into pieces and shoved down my stomach. Damn it, how am I going to make it to college without her?

**A/N: That's it for the prologue. Please review and give this story a chance I have a really good feeling about this one. I'll try to update it more often than I did with Maid In Manhattan but I can't make any promises other than I'll try my very best. **

**Love A. **


	2. Best Friend & Boyfriend

**A/N: **I don't own Twilight. Any similarities or references belong to their own persons.

We were four when we met, two little girls on the playground enjoying what little sun this rainy town could offer. I was immediately enthralled with the only other girl at the park; grateful for an escape from the mud games the other little boys we're trying to convince me to play. I had walked right up to her and announced to her, "I'm Isabella Swan and you're my new best friend."

"Who said I wanted to be your best friend?"

"Why wouldn't you want to be my best friend?" I had asked, quite confused because honestly I was the best candidate at this point. I brushed my teeth twice a day and my hair was soft, I mean come on what else can you ask for?"

She looked me over and glanced quickly at the boys, who were throwing mud balls at each other at that point. She gulped and turned back towards me.

"I'm Rosalie Hale."

I frowned and shook my head. "That's _way _too complicated."

"And Isabella isn't?" She shot back and crossed her arms, just like I had seen my cousin Emily do to her boyfriend Sam when she was yelling at him.

"Ok fine, we both need nicknames then." I confirmed with all the authority that a four year old could have at that age.

"No," Rosalie's eyes narrowed. "Rosalie and Isabella sound like princess names. Don't you want to be a princess?"

Of course I wanted to be a princess. Who didn't want to be a princess? So we had both agreed that we would be known as Rosalie and Isabella to the public but Rose and Bella just to ourselves.

By grade three, we had dropped that. For one, because everyone started calling us by our nicknames and two, well because apparently we were too old for the princess game.

From that point on we became Isabella and Rosalie to adults, Bella and Rose to our friends and B and R to each other. We made sure that these nicknames stayed inclusive by spit shaking on the fact that only we could call each other that. Do you know how much dedication it takes for two girls to spit shake?

There wasn't a single thing that the two of us didn't do together. We had been together through all of our firsts.

Our first day of school, we weren't in the same class and had both thrown uncontrollable fits until they begrudgingly put us together.

My first kiss with Jacob Black on First Beach during the spring fling in grade 6 and her first kiss with Mike Newton just a couple days before (because he had asked her to spring fling and she had felt obligated.) We both decided that it looked much nicer on TV.

My first period in grade 7 that had come the day before the class trip to the indoor waterpark. R had skipped the trip and stayed with me, thankfully, since she had gotten in that same night. We both cried together and watched mean girls all night long.

Our first drink was in grade 9, when we were invited to our first high school party. We had both drunken copious amounts of liquor, mixing them all up without knowing of the repercussions. Thankfully, her cousin Riley found us and brought us to his house.

Our first hangover came shortly after and we both swore to never touch an alcoholic beverage, ever again. Riley had laughed at us and gave us a crash course on everything liquor, even though we insisted we wouldn't need it.

Our first smoke (also in grade nine) when the town's local heartthrob James Avery had personally offered us cigarettes from his own pack. We had both taken them without a thought and attempted to hide the fact that our lungs wanted to stab us continuously. James had laughed, surprised at our lack of coughing and shook his head, promising us that we were going to break hearts in the future.

We took it as a compliment.

Our first experiment with drug use had been in grade ten. We were both very angry at the fact that our childhood friend Paul had become a dealer and wanted to know exactly what he was getting himself into. So, we decided to smoke a joint with him. Sadly, both R and I enjoyed it immensely and let Paul off the hook with the promise of an occasional smoke session from time to time courtesy of Paul himself, because ladies shouldn't have to pay for such things.

The first time I fell in love, it was with Emmett Cullen. He had moved to town during second semester in grade ten with his mom, Esme. I wish I could describe what happened and how it happened but I can't. Meeting Emmett was like meeting Rosalie. They were two people I immediately knew I couldn't live without, so why should I?

Sadly, it wasn't that easy. Emmett and Rosalie absolutely hated each other. They literally couldn't stay in the same room for more than five minutes before they were yelling at each other, which was normal for R. She's always had a bit of a temper.

But not for Emmett, he was what could only be described as a teddy bear in a grizzly's body. Whenever I was with him, he'd make me forget about all my worries and everything that was wrong with the world.

Whenever mom and dad were fighting, I'd go straight to Emmett's arms. He'd make me forget about the world and everything would be okay.

Whenever I failed a test, I'd go see Em straight away. He would find a stupid math joke that wasn't funny at all and I'd laugh anyway. Soon enough, the not-so-funny joke had me near tears.

R never understood it.

She'd gape at me whenever he made a scene and I laughed it off without trying to contain his silliness.

She'd shake her head at me whenever I would stand in the rain for hours to watch him at football practice.

She'd snort whenever he made a bad joke, laughing at him not with him.

But she was R and she was my best friend.

When I first started dating Emmett, she stayed on the phone with me until three in the morning to hear me talk about how much of an amazing boyfriend he was, even though she didn't like him.

When I thought Emmett had cheated on me with Lauren Mallory she held me as I cried into my ice cream, that she ate dutifully beside me even though there was nothing R hated more than ice cream.

The following day, R punched Lauren straight in the nose. It cost her two days suspension. Her parents were furious, but she didn't care.

When I lost my virginity to Emmett she listened to me prattle on about how perfect it was to have it finally happen on the sand at Third Beach. She smiled for me and told me how truly happy she was for me.

I didn't notice that not once had she called to tell me about how happy she was with Royce, her boyfriend.

When Royce had kissed Jessica Stanely, R didn't even bat an eyelash.

Although she smiled at me when I poured my smoothie onto Jessica's dress at homecoming, she told me I shouldn't have. That she didn't care.

Not once had I wondered why.

When Royce left for college, leaving Rose behind. I spent the night at her house, with a bottle of whiskey in hand. I had mentally planned myself for a night of crying and reminiscing. Instead we had partied until we couldn't even stand straight, just the two of us (like old times, she had said.)

I hadn't understood what that meant.

Sometime in October, R and I had spent the whole night talking about how it would be when we went off to college.

"You're still coming to NYU with me, right B?"

I had sat up abruptly, startled by her question. "Of course I'm still going to NYU with you R, what the hell? We've been planning this since we were kids."

R looked at me, her blue eyes widening to a size I haven't seen them reach since grade five when she had tried to get a puppy. "Yeah, but that was before Emmett."

I coughed out a laugh. "What does Emmett have to do with anything?"

"Oh come on B, you love him. We all know Emmett's not going to NYU. He may be passing calculus but he isn't that smart B."

"Emmett is my boyfriend, R; my high school sweetheart. Emphasis on the high school part," I added hastily. "You're my family."

R snorted and rolled her eyes at my sudden shift in mood.

"Fuck of R, I'm being serious. What the hell? Do you honestly think I would drop you like that? You're the only family I have."

R's eyes softened and her hand reached out to me. "B," she said softly.

I shook her off, not wanting her pity and sat up indian style.

"My mom and dad haven't spoken to each other in months, we barely say a few words to each other a day. I haven't seen any of my cousins in forever. You're my family R. Emmett or no Emmett, you're my first priority. He's my boyfriend but you're my sister. Next fall, Emmett most likely be going to school on the west coast on a football scholarship. But you and me, we'll be living our dream in NYU, together. Nothing can change that."

Or so I thought.

**A/N: I know it's kind of messy right now but I'm just trying to give you all a glimpse into the past. Little bits and pieces. The story will pick off in the present time in a couple of chapters, don't you worry. **


	3. ASU & NYU

**A/N: ****I don't own Twilight. Any similarities or references belong to their own persons.**

Esme Cullen's house was like one of those houses you saw on the Internet on a tumblr blog or a "house-porn" twitter account. Not because it was big, but because it was like any house you'd ever see anywhere else.

The entire back side of the house was made entirely of glass, which would've been weird and extremely creepy had their house not been in the middle of fucking nowhere.

Esme was an interior designer, apparently one of the best on the West coast, so the inside of the house was just as pretty. She herself was a beautiful woman, though her best trait had to be her caring personality.

I had often wondered why she kept the name Cullen even though she had divorced Emmett's dad.

"Because she wanted to have the same last name as me and I refused to change mine," Emmett had told me.

"Why wouldn't you want your mom's last name?" I had asked, confused.

"Because my brother and sister would've kept dad's name since they stayed with him. It would be weird not to have the same last name as the twins."

Emmett had two younger siblings. Edward and Alice, born eleven months after him. Which was weird as fuck if you ask me, but whatever. To each their own. The Cullen's were born and raised in California. Mr. Cullen was a doctor and worked late hours so they rarely saw him, which put a strain on his marriage. The breaking point however was when he cheated on Esme with this young nurse named Bree.

Esme filed for papers without a second thought, even though she loved him with all her heart. She had of course hoped that her kids would come with her, but Alice was a daddy's girl and refused to leave her dad. Edward, being the pussy twin he is, decided to stay with her.

Mind you, I had never met those kids but the thought of anyone being able to look their cheating parent in the eye was beyond me. Although, I might be slightly biased following the whole Charlie/Reneé/Phil fiasco.

If Renée Swan is my mother biologically, Esme Cullen was for the most part my mother in my heart. Esme taught me how to cook in grade ten. I had complained one night to her about always eating microwavable food and she'd promised to teach me how to make a different thing each Sunday at two.

I was in the Cullen kitchen every Sunday from two to four until grade twelve. It's safe to say I'm a fuck-awesome cook. Which is good because somebody has to feed R and I, christ. Both our mothers were disastrous in the kitchen, R wasn't any better. I would fend for the two of us in the kitchen and R would take care of any mechanical problems we came across.

On my 16th birthday, R gave me a rusty red Chevy truck that she had brought back to life from a junkyard in Port Angeles. On R's 16th birthday I won a baking contest in Seattle and got to name their starting desert after her. To this day, if you go to Volturi you will see the Rosalie as their recommended desert.

Emmett had tried to talk me out of it, explaining to me that I could never rename it and that I deserved the recognition. I didn't talk to him for a whole day and a half. He caved in first and apologized, finally grasping just how much R meant to me.

Although he never said anything, I'm pretty sure Emmett was always slightly put out by just how much R meant to me. I never really noticed anything until just before college application period, while having dinner at the Cullen household.

"So Bella," Esme had said, twiddling spaghetti around her fork with a certain amount of grace that only Esme Cullen could have. "Do you like the sun?"

"I guess. I like it as much as any other person, but I could never go for a Christmas without snow or anything like that." Honestly, how could you have Christmas without snow?

"Oh." She had said, confused. "I'm sure you'll get used to it."

At that point, I was the confused one. "Why would I have to get used to it?"

Esme had laughed, throwing her head back slightly. "There's no snow in Arizona, Bella dear."

Then, I laughed. "I know, but there is snow in New York City."

Emmett had coughed loudly beside me.

"ASU is in Arizona, Bella."

ASU. Arizona State University, alongside many other schools had offered Emmett a football scholarship.

"I know where it is. I'm going to NYU," I had said in a no-negotiation voice.

Esme had opened her mouth to contest, but had been silenced by Emmett clearing his throat. The conversation had ended there but the discussion was far from over. Later in his room, Emmett had thrown the tantrum of a lifetime.

"How embarrassing B, why would you tell my mom that we weren't going to college together?"

"Because we're not? And don't call me that," I had snapped.

"Why because _she _calls you that?" He had asked saying the word "she" in such a vile way I had almost left the house right there. "I thought the college issue was still up for discussion."

"There's no issue, so I don't know why you'd think we could discuss anything. Em, I'm so proud of you for all your scholarships. But I'm going to NYU. I've been dreaming about this with Rose since we were little girls."

"You were little girls, Bella. Little girls say silly things."

"Going to NYU isn't silly Emmett, I'm going to NYU and nothing can change that. If you really want to go to college with me, come to NYU."

"NYU isn't offering me a scholarship, Bella. I'm not going to plan my life accordingly to yours and Rosalie's childish plans. She's your friend not the left part of your body, you two don't have to do everything together."

"Rosalie is my sister."

"No, she isn't. She's your best friend and I'm your boyfriend. A normal teenage girl would agree that those two have equal importance in a girls life."

The argument had gone on forever. I had never seen Emmett so mad. In the end, I had applied for NYU and only NYU, a risky move but hey what is life without risks. Emmett and I had both agreed not to talk about college anymore until the very last day, when we both had no other choice but to talk about our post-secondary future.

The subject was never brought up again between the two of us. That wasn't the case with R. It seemed that that was the only thing the two of us could talk about.

"I can't fucking wait to have you as a roommate B, we'll be the only two college kids that don't live on KD."

"You're basically already my roommate."

"Yeah but B, in New York City! Do you remember-"

"When we used to watch Gossip Girl like it was our religion?"

"And we swore that we would be just like Blair and Serena?"

"We already are Blair and Serena, but in Forks."

"Whatever, B. You know what I'm excited for?"

"College boys?"

"Sororities."

Believe it or not, R and I had secretly always dreamed of joining a sorority.

"You know what I'm scared of?"

"Isabella Swan, scared? I never thought I'd see the day," she had teased, pulling a strand of my hair.

"What if one of us doesn't get accepted to NYU?"

The day we signed up for NYU together at 5:37 pm, we held hands and prayed. Everyday at 5:37 pm until the day we got accepted, we held hands and prayed. Prayed for nothing to keep us apart, prayed for the stars to align to make both our dreams come true, to give us the chance to prove ourselves and make a name for ourselves, to go to NYU, while every other kid in Forks would settle for Seattle or a school on the West Coast. We wanted to make it big, in Manhattan, like we had always dreamed of doing.

When we had went to check the mailbox, and had both gotten big fat acceptance letters with the NYU logo on it, we had screamed so loudly old Mrs. Roberts had called the cops on us.

"Bella? Is that you?" Officer Reynolds had stopped his car right beside us, stepping out with his hand on his holster, as if he would've shot us for being happy.

"Um, yes."

"I just got a noise complaint from Mrs. Roberts, would you mind explaining that to me?"

Rose and I had exchanged excited glances and had shrieked as loud as we possibly could. Officer Reynolds was not amused. Frankly, I didn't give two fucks. Because I was going to NYU with my best friend and nothing was going to stop me.

**A/N: Thanks so much, reviews make me very happy and give me so much motivation to update fast so keep them coming. I probably wont update this tomorrow but I'll try to update it before this weekend. **

**Love, A. **


	4. Parents & Siblings

**A/N: ****I don't own Twilight. Any similarities or references belong to their own persons.**

Lillian Hale was a person I hoped to be like when I was older. Not because she was beautiful, or a good mother but because she was one of the strongest women I had ever met. When Lillian was 16 she got pregnant, with twins mind you. Her mother was absolutely appalled but agreed to help her with her pregnancy so she could at least finish high school.

Her parents kicked her out of the house when she was 18, and no longer their responsibility. With two kids and nothing but a high school diploma, Lillian stayed at one of her friends house for a couple of months and worked three jobs to be able to provide for her kids. At 20, Lillian had gathered enough money to rent a basement in Forks. The owner absolutely loved children and treated Lillian's two kids like they were her own. Jasper and Rosalie Hale were the most loved kids in Forks. When the owned of the house died, she left her entire property to Lillian.

Thanks to her act of kindness, Lillian was able to put together a hefty savings fund for her two kids since she no longer had a mortgage to worry about. Unfortunately, she most likely wouldn't have enough money to send both her kids to university.

When Jasper was thirteen he found a school that paid your university in full if you enrolled and made honour roll every year that you attended until you graduate. He begged his mom every minute of every day to be able to go.

Lillian, being Lillian, refused to let her only son have to depend on a "possibility of a scholarship" to attend university, and wanted him to go on her own terms. Soon enough, she realized she had no over choice. The summer before grade 9 was the last summer I saw Jasper Hale. He'd attended an all-boys military school in Texas and never had enough money to come visit during the holidays.

Of course at some point, he did have enough money, but why would he leave Texas to come to rainy Forks, Washington? R was bitterly convinced he never visited because he didn't want to leave his girlfriend Maria's side. Jasper Hale was a touchy subject.

The summer he left was the first and only time I'd ever seen Rosalie Hale cry. When we'd gotten back from the airport, she had locked herself in his room and cried for hours. Lillian had locked herself in her room and cried for days. I stayed over until they both felt better, making sure they were well fed and that their house was clean.

"Stop that, B. You're not our fucking maid."

"No, but I'm your fucking family and I'm taking care of you and your mom whether you like it or not."

She had muttered something along the lines of "so damn stubborn" but didn't try to stop me. After a while, she left his room and came to hug me. I wouldn't have been able to leave that hug, even if I'd tried. I sat down on the living room floor with her clinging on to me as if I was the only thing she had in life for three hours. When her eyes were dry, and my shirt was sufficiently soaked in salt-water tears we both put it behind us and didn't mention her break down ever again. After all, that's what best friend's did.

That same summer was the summer I lost my mother. Not lost as in she past away, but lost as in Renée Swan was no longer in my life. Mom had been coming home late, and leaving early. She'd barely seen me all of grade eight and almost didn't make it to my middle school graduation.

"How come mom's been so busy lately, dad?"

"She's been busy, with work."

The idea was plausible, around that time mom had seemed to be making significant amounts of money. She had gotten a whole new wardrobe, new shoes, new jewellery, yet dad still seemed to be struggling to pay the bills every month.

One morning, R and I woke up extra early. We snuck out of the house right after mom did and followed her all the way to work. Instead of walking to the flower shop where mom was the manager, she stopped at a local café and left with a tall man in a suit. They both got into a Mercedes Benz and sped away.

R and I walked right into that flower shop and put on our best little innocent girl faces.

"Hi, may I speak to your manager?"

The young woman at the cash register smiled at us brightly. "You're looking right at her."

R and I had exchanged puzzled glances. "Isn't Renée Swan the manager here?"

The young woman laughed. "Oh, no. Renée quit months ago, I'm her replacement. Can I help you?"

She never got her answer, but I sure as hell had gotten mine. R and I had stayed in that café for five hours, waiting for Renée. When the Mercedes finally pulled up, she got out and exchanged a kiss so indecent with the driver; it should've been illegal in all 50 states. Thankfully, Emily had gotten me camera last summer.

After a quick stop to develop the pictures, R and I were on our way to the police office. We left the pictures in an unsigned letter and slid it under the Chiefs office.

When dad came home that night, he packed all of Renée's things for her and dropped them outside, in the rain. I was furious. She did not deserve any of her belongings.

R stayed with me that night, glancing at me every five seconds, anticipating a breakdown of royal proportions.

"Would you quit looking at me like that?"

R narrowed her eyes at my sharp tone. "It's okay to cry once in a while, B."

I looked at her levelly. "Why would I cry for someone that no longer exists to me?"

A couple of months later, I was invited to the wedding of Renée King and Phil Dwyer. I burned that letter along with the invitation to assist the birth of Kate Dwyer. Who the hell invites someone to assist the birth of your child? Soon enough, I stopped receiving letters from the happy couple and it was like they had never existed.

Sadly, when mom left, she seemed to have taken my father with her. In his place was less than a quarter of the man that Charlie Swan used to be. He left early in the morning for work, spent all his days at the station, doing extra hours and such. Whenever he had a break he was fishing with Billy Black and Harry Clearwater. The only words we exchanged were quiet "good mornings" and the ever so polite "how was your day?"

It's safe to say that I lived in the loneliest house in Forks. In grade 11, my house gained two occupants for a few months. It was the best few months of my life, even though the circumstances they came in were less than positive.

The week before school started, Seth Clearwater and Sam Uley had thrown a party in the abandoned warehouse near the Hale residence. Although the party itself had been a huge success, a few party animals had left their lit cigarettes in the warehouse in their drunken stupor. With the proximity of the houses in Forks, it wasn't long before the entire right side of Brook St was on fire.

Thankfully, no one was hurt since the smell of burning wood woke everyone up in time. Unfortunately, the Hales and many other families were left without a house for months. Lillian once again started working double shifts to be able to make enough money to replace the few valuables that she and R had lost in the fire.

In the meanwhile, they lived with me. It was easily the best couple of months in my life, to have my sister, a mother figure and a somewhat present father all in the same house hold it was all I'd ever wanted.

When the Hales finally left, R and I were crushed. The only thing getting us through the day being that within a year or two, we'd be reunited as roommates once again, this time in NYU.

**A/N: I'm really on a roll with the updates for this story; I don't know where all this inspiration is coming from. Must be those awesome review. (wink, wink.) I'm not really sure if I should keep on writing about the relationships Bella has for a few more chapters or if I should start writing about the betrayal part now. **

**Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear it. **

**Love, A. **


	5. Love & Disappointments

**A/N: ****I don't own Twilight. Any similarities or references belong to their own persons.**

Prom was the type of high school experience that you just couldn't get away from. Especially in a town as small as Forks. Good luck trying to not go to prom, you'd be the talk of town for two weeks, at least. When R and I were younger, we would sneak downstairs to watch MTV and would often get enchanted by the over-the-top promposals that would happen. R was completely disgusted by the amount of money spent simply on asking a girl to prom. Senior year was indeed a very expensive year, something that was quite an inconvenience to the Hales.

"You have to go to prom, R. It's not even an option."

"Oh come on, B. A night spent chaperoned in the Forks High gym is hardly worth the amount of money it'll cost."

"But the memories you'll have! It's a rite of passage, R. You can not skip it."

Even the adults in Forks were involved with prom. One day, while coming home from school on one of the rare days that Chief Swan had a day off, he dropped the biggest bomb on me.

"So, Bells. Prom is coming up."

"Yeah, I know. I'm going prom dress shopping with R next weekend."

"Great, I'll give you some money."

Obviously thinking the conversation was finished; I thanked him and made my way to leave the kitchen.

"Not so fast, Isabella. I actually um I found. I found you a prom date."

I laughed, hard. Until I found out he wasn't joking. "You're joking, right?"

"No. Jacob Black. You remember Billy's son? I promised him you'd go to prom with him."

That day, Charlie Swan got a first glance at what a teenaged girl tantrum looks like.

"Well, un-promise him!" I stomped my foot angrily. "I have a boyfriend dad."

Charlie's face had gotten an awful shade of purple, having completely skipped red. "A boyfriend? Bella, you are way too young to have a boyfriend."

"I'm turning 18 in a week, dad. I've been dating Emmett for two years now. If you want, I'll find Jacob a date in Forks High, but I'm not going with him."

The conversation had ended there. Not because Charlie had nothing else to say but because there was nothing else worth listening to. Thankfully, I had the perfect prom date for Jacob.

R. She didn't have a prom date, and probably would've gone alone if I hadn't begged her to go with Jacob.

Rosalie Hale was easily the most beautiful girl in Forks. For some reason, she didn't have a lot of friends. Guys only spoke to her because they wanted to get in her pants and girls wanted nothing than to stab her and steal her hair. Jealousy at Forks High was more common than hairspray at cheer camp.

Because of that, there were always several rumours going around about R. Although she acted like they didn't bother her, I knew better and often tried to shield her from them as much as possible.

In Grade Eleven, a couple of months after R and Royce had gotten together, she was convinced that she was pregnant. Thankfully, it was just a very late period. Unfortunately, Angela Webber saw her buying a pregnancy test at the local store. Being the good Christian that she is, the next day at school she had showed up with the entire Christianity club to our lunch table with gifts and pamphlets against abortion to "aid Rosalie with her struggles".

I'll never forget the look of horror on R's face as the entire cafeteria burst into laughter, or the furiously horrified glare Royce sent her.

"Rose, _what the fuck,_" he hissed into her ear.

Angela sent him a haughty look. "Honestly Royce, you could be more supportive. Rosalie, we want you to know that the entire Christian community of Forks will support you and this child, although he is an illegitimate one." She opened her arms wide as if to give her a hug.

Without a thought, I ran into Angela's waiting arms and fake sobbed into her arms.

"Oh thank you Angela, good news, I'm not pregnant! But I'm glad to know you would be here for me if I were."

"Bella? The test was for you?"

"Of course the pregnancy test was for me," I'd announced loud enough for most of the cafeteria to hear. "R was just being a good friend and bought it for me."

Of course, being Chiefs Swan's daughter, no one would've ever dared give me grief and the matter was dropped. Nonetheless, cheap calls like such happened often. I could've killed each and every one of them. They see a pretty face and immediately assume she's fair game for all sorts of cruel games.

The day of the actual prom I learned just how much of a bitch my best friend could be. Although I had an amazing night, Rosalie's night was only perfect in pictures. Turns out Jacob wasn't as likeable as I thought he was, they both bickered all night and were only were in agreement when they cheered for me as I accepted the position of Prom Queen, much to Lauren Mallory's horror. I never would've admitted it but being prom queen was something I'd always dreamt of.

Just like getting my high school diploma, sealing the deal on NYU, was something I'd always dreamt of. When the day finally came, it was the most depressing thing I'd ever seen. Consequently, Emmett's graduation day was the same as his siblings in Arizona, so Esme was the only one in the audience for him. Jasper's semester was still going on and Renée had returned the invite (that Charlie forced me to send).

We were the only three idiots that got the "polite-applause" that the crowd gave as a sympathy sound when our names were called. We were happy with it nonetheless, no need for fake family members to be present at the end of our high school careers when they weren't present for the whole thing, right?

Well, that's how I felt. R and Emmett however were pretty upset so we skipped out on all the post-grad parties and went to our respective houses. That summer, I got a job at the Country Club in Port Angeles and was rarely home. I saw Emmett and R whenever I could, which wasn't very often but I made them understand that this predicament was only for the summer.

I needed to accumulate some more money if I didn't want to become a hassle to Chief Swan. It would be unfair for him to keep on funding the child he never wanted. I'd love to be able to say that I knew all about what R and Emmett did that summer. Truth be told, whenever I saw them, we never really talked about what they'd done during their days. We were the kinds of people that lived in the moment, not in the past.

That summer, R and I finished off our before moving out bucket list. We jumped off the highest cliff in La Push, camped in the forest outside my house (because we were too chicken-shit to actually go camping in the mountains), spray painted B&R under the slide at the park where we both met and went skinny-dipping in Fourth Beach.

Soon enough, the week we'd all been waiting for was approaching; that week where everyone started to go off to college. To celebrate, we'd rented out the cavern in La Push and Mike Newton had a huge rave. He hadn't gotten accepted to college, so I assume that that's where he put all his college funds in. It was the best night of my life. I wouldn't be able to tell you how I got home or how I made it to my bed, but I was damn happy that I'd be able to leave Forks with memories of such a great summer behind me.

The next morning, the sound of someone pounding on my door woke me up. I realized then that I must've done something very wrong in my past life to deserve such treatment. Someone must've been punishing me. Lazily, I got out of bed, dragging my feet down the stairs.

I opened the door, slightly annoyed that anyone would be knocking on it at eight am on a Sunday morning and was surprised to see Angela Webber standing on my porch with a letter in her hand. I mentally huffed in annoyance. Just because she was the minister's daughter and was obligated to be up so early on Sundays did not mean that she could force that upon the rest of us.

The fact that she even dared stand before me after that stunt she pulled last year was incredible. She must really have no self-preservation.

"I know this seems strange, but someone left this tapped to my car with instructions to hand it to you," she handed me a sealed enveloped and gave me a small smile before heading back to her car. Confused, I opened it up and started to read it.

_Dear B, _

_I'm sorry. _

_No, I'm more than sorry. Sorry can't even begin to describe how I feel about what I'm doing; yet I'm doing it anyways. I know you and I had planned on going away to college together, since forever. I'm talking in the past tense because, well, it's not happening B. I'm sorry I didn't tell you, I didn't know how! But it doesn't matter because, now I'm gone. I cancelled my application to NYU. I'm going off to college, don't worry, just not NYU. I can't tell you where I'm going or who I'm going with. You're probably (by this point of my letter) seriously mad me. I can deal with that. But I can't tell you more because then you would hate me. Although, I guess it doesn't matter because we'll probably never see each other again. _

_You're my best friend B, you'll always be the best friend I'll ever have and I don't deserve you one bit. These past 14 years have been amazing. _

_I'm _so_ sorry, B. I love you. _

Angela Webber was going to die a sad sad death when I got my hands on her. Of all her petty little pranks on R, this had had to be the worst. I grabbed my car keys, my hat, ignored my hangover and jumped right into the car on my way to the Hale house. To this day, I'm still surprised that I got to that house in one piece with all the aggressive driving I had done.

I knocked on the door repeatedly, probably like Angela did at my house, uncaring of how pissed R would be when she opened the door. She _had_ to know how low Angela had sunk.

Instead, Lillian opened the door and pulled me into her arms.

"Bella? It's so nice to see you, can I help you?"

"Yeah, can I speak to R, please?"

Lillian had frowned at me, her eyes watering up. "Bella, that's not funny."

I had frowned back. "I wasn't trying to be funny, seriously. Can I talk to her?"

"Of course not, Bella. She left for Arizona twenty minutes ago."

It wasn't a coincidence. It couldn't be. Emmett had left for Arizona thirty minutes ago on his way to the airport. But it had to be a coincidence. R and Emmett hated each other. Hate wasn't a strong enough word to describe their feelings for each other.

I had walked to the park down the street and sat down on the swing. I probably sat there glancing at the sand for an hour or so. I could've gone to SeaTac to talk her out of it; to find out why, or with whom. But if R wanted me to know, I would've.

A shadow had appeared from beside me and I had turned my head to see Riley standing beside me, with his hands in his pockets.

"How you holding up, kid?"

I had shrugged, not answering.

He chuckled. "I figured you'd be either bawling your eyes out or planning a mass murder, not this shit."

I had raised an eyebrow, questioning his lack of intelligence.

"I mean," he'd continued. "If my best friend had run off to some random ass college with the person I've been dating for two years-"

"What did you just say?"

"Shit. You didn't know?"

Once, again I found myself speeding down the roads of Forks, this time towards the Cullen house. I needed answers, and I needed them now. In record time, I was in front of the porch, banging on the door like a maniac.

I don't know how long it took for me to grasp that Esme had probably gone to drop off Emmett at the airport. Somehow, I had found myself back inside my car.

You know those overly dramatic Hollywood movies that always make it really big in the box office because the plot is just so damn sad? Well you know how there's always that one scene where the main character breaks down and starts bawling his or her eyes out, screaming and crying uncontrollably and everyone in the theatre is either really uncomfortable or crying too?

Yeah, that was me. My clothes, face and the driver's seat of my car were completely soaked and for once it had nothing to do with the temperature outside. I couldn't remember the last time I cried; now I couldn't stop.

I always knew that R wasn't an angel. I knew she could do awful things, horrible things, mean things. I just never imagined that the worst thing she could ever do would be to me.

**A/N: I hope that that satisfied what you had all been waiting for. If not, sorry but that's exactly how I have it all planned out. Hope you all will stick around to find out what else I have in store for Bella. **

**Reviews make me very very very happy. **

**Love, A. **


	6. Destruct & Salvage

**A/N: ****I don't own Twilight. Any similarities or references belong to their own persons****.**

The time lapse between R's betrayal and my departure for NYU was short, but disastrous. Somehow I had found myself in La Push's most dangerous streets, parked in front of Paul's bungalow. Paul was a childhood friend. His dad used to beat him and was eventually taken away; his mother was an alcoholic and had killed herself when he was fourteen. Somehow, the state had allowed him to live alone, despite his age.

It's safe to say that Paul's future wouldn't include fraternities followed by a 9 to 5 office job. In fact, Paul's house probably had every drug known to man kept inside its crevices. Despite his location, the kid was rolling in money due to his illicit activities. Which was exactly why I was there.

"No," he'd said firmly, looking me dead in the eye.

"Why?" I had huffed angrily. "Paul, you're a drug dealer, I want drugs. Deal them to me!"

"Bella, you're my friend and you're clearly upset. Look, I'll give you weed, a couple of shots maybe but nothing stronger."

I had pouted, and he'd laughed but kept true to his word. An hour later, I was over the moon, and on Paul's lap, kissing his neck.

"Come on, Bella. You don't want this." Paul had murmured, giving a half-hearted effort to stop me.

"You know me Paul, even when I'm not sober I don't do anything unless I want to do it. I _want_ you."

And what Bella Swan wanted, Bella Swan got. What I didn't want but got, was a lesson and an epiphany.

I was an awful person.

My boyfriend had just left me and within an hour I was with another guy, enjoying it. Did that mean that I never really did love Emmett? Would I be able to find another best friend that quick too?

I'd thought about it during the entire ride home. No. That was the answer I had come up with. No, it didn't mean that I didn't love Emmett, but it meant that I was never in love with him. Maybe our break up was long overdue. I clearly didn't feel as strongly for him as when I had first met him. What did that say about what I knew of love? What was love? I guess, I've never really known. All the romantic relationships around me had crashed and burned.

No also answered my other question. No, I wouldn't be able to find another best friend quickly. Why? Because if I knew anything about love, it was that I loved R. Every single day, I'd felt as strongly for her as I did that first day on the playground. My love for her was sisterly and never stopped growing. It had surpassed all obstacles and I knew that that was a love I would never find again.

Did I still love R? Yes.

Was I mad at R? Hell yes.

Did I forgive R? Ah, another question no held the answer to.

As much as I would have loved to be mad at her and completely cut her out of my existence. I could not think back to a single time when I had been happy and she wasn't part of the reason why. I could not find a single memory in my memory bank that she wasn't a part of, I could not remember a time when I didn't have her obnoxiously long blonde hair by my side.

R was a part of my life, and I would miss her.

I wouldn't condone what she did.

I wouldn't go looking for her.

I wouldn't forgive her.

I wouldn't try to see her side of the story.

I wouldn't drop everything and run to ASU after her.

But I would miss her. A lot. Despite every little cell in my brain screaming at me not to, I would.

With my head held high, I packed my bags, alone.

I took away anything valuable from my room, leaving behind my memories.

I had one last dinner with my dad, ignoring the empty chair to my right.

I hugged my dad and climbed into the taxi, alone.

I looked out the window, desperately trying to memorize every square foot of the town I couldn't wait to leave but couldn't bear to forget.

I waved at the locals that recognized me, and noticed their confused look at the empty seat beside me.

I stepped into SeaTac, alone. Checked in for my flight, alone. Passed through customs for the first time in my entire life, alone despite the fact that I was promised a tall blonde companion for this experience.

I sat down on those annoying airplane chairs that are all attached and waited for what seemed to have been hours until my flight number was called.

When it was, I grabbed my oversized hand bag that had somehow been accepted as a carry on and walked over to the boarding station where two overly peppy flight attendants with fake smiles practically painted on were checking everyone's passports and boarding passes.

Thankfully, that was over fast and I walked anxiously to the middle section of the plane and sat down in the window seat.

Fifteen minutes later, the plane was getting ready for take off. I finally looked away from the window and glanced at the empty seat beside me. My heart felt like it was being torn into pieces and shoved down my stomach.

Damn it, how was I going to make it to college without her?

_Focus._

A voice inside my head called to me.

_Rosalie's doing fine without you. She took the plane, said goodbye to her family and is probably settling in to her college with her roommate as we speak. You're Isabella Marie Swan. If she can do it, why can't you? _

Because I've never had to do anything alone, I had thought back to the voice.

It was true. I had never been alone a day in my life. Up until a few years after I met R, my parents' marriage was going great. By then, even though my parents' marriage was going rough, I had my family. I had R. I had never had to suffer in silence or in pain alone in my entire life.

_Grow up, B. You're not a kid anymore. You wanted to escape Forks, well now you did. No one's here to baby you anymore, you get it? Prove yourself. _

Yes, inner voice. I had thought. Yes, that's exactly what I would do. I would prove to everyone, especially myself that I could and I would survive without anyone to baby me.

And that's exactly what I did.

**A/N: Sorry about the length, and the lack of real development in the story but this was essential in the moving on from Rosalie and Forks. **

**You can all expect a few brief chapters about Bella and her life at NYU before the story picks up in present tense with the presence of all the Cullen's once again. **

**Reviews make me happy, so make me happy. **

**Love, A. **


	7. Endings & Beginnings

**A/N: **I don't own Twilight. Any similarities or references belong to their own persons.

NYU alone was hard, at first. Thankfully, I had a dorm to myself since Rosalie had cancelled out. Yes, Rosalie. Somehow sometime during that plane ride I had decided that our surnames were no longer fitting, and that if I was to be treated like a stranger, I should mentally call her out as one.

The big change in my life was when I walked into my 8 am English class, and sat down to the girls that would very much become a part of me throughout college. I remember it like it was yesterday. For some reason, I had decided to sit between two girls instead of far off in a corner.

My head hand flopped backwards as soon as I had sat down. "Why the fuck did I take an 8 am class." I complained, mostly to myself.

The girl to my right had nodded empathetically. "I need a coffee," she'd announced.

"Or three" murmured the girl to my left.

I'd snorted and brought my head back up. "Where's the closest coffee shop? I just got here last week."

The girl to my right had shrugged. "I got here three days ago."

The girl to my left's eyes had widened considerably. "I know of a great one nearby, I'll take you both. I'm Tanya."

"Bella." I'd shot her a welcoming smile. Anyone with coffee was a friend.

"I'm Charlotte," announced the girl to my right. "And I can't fucking wait for that coffee."

Since that day, the five of us had been inseparable: five being Charlotte, Tanya and her two sisters Irina and Kate, and myself. Charlotte was the typical southerner that we adored. Her long brown locks and cute accent had gotten her a quite a bit of male attention that she strived for. Her values were very family-oriented; I guess you could say that she had been the mediator of any fights we'd ever had.

Tanya was the flirt. Her strawberry blonde hair and baby blue eyes got her all the attention she wanted, and oh did she ever want it. She was definitely very girly and thanks to her daddy's fortune, she hadn't ever had to worry about money.

Her two sisters were very much like her, all though they were all unique.

Kate was the fierce one of our group. She was the girl you wouldn't want to accidentally spill your drink on at the club, because you'd be bleeding from your nose before you could even blink. Her golden blonde hair was often stick straight. She was frighteningly beautiful.

Then, there was Irina. She was incredibly smart. She wanted to become a doctor and spend most of her days studying. We literally would have to drag her from her dorm so that she could actually breathe. She had been the "mother" of our group.

Then, there was me. I hadn't changed much. I was the wild child of our little group, the only one that had never been blonde and the only one that had never been on a plane before my flight to NYU.

When finding out how many life experiences they considered "vital" I didn't have, they promised to "show me the world".

My girls got me through NYU and Business School.

Thanks to them, I never had to return to the silly little town of Forks, Washington. If I closed my eyes, I could pretend Forks had never existed. It's just a forgotten town in a state far away from the life I was currently living.

Every thanksgiving was spent with Charlotte and her family in Texas. Her mother treated me like an honorary daughter and her brother's annoyed me as if they were my own. Her dad was just as protective as my own should've been, and I loved him for it.

They'd always tried to get me to come over on Christmas as well but I would have none of it. I refused to spring myself upon a family for every special holiday of the year.

I spent all my Christmases with the Denali's in their way-too-big Upper East Side loft. For some reason, Mr. and Mrs. Denali absolutely loved me and had even given me a room in their loft and a key for "whenever you want to leave those atrocious dorm rooms, dear."

Sometimes I couldn't help but wonder how different my life would've been if I had actually been to NYU with Rosalie.

Would I have met the girls? No, probably not.

Would I have spent my vacations all around the country? Most likely, they would've been trips to Forks and back.

Would I have gotten to walk the catwalks of many runway shows and stared in several photo shoots as a part time job thanks to Mrs. Denali? No. If Rosalie had been here, they wouldn't have wanted me.

So, I guess it was true, that old saying that I'd heard several times. Everything truly does happen for a reason. Looking back at it, Rosalie and Emmett had done me a favour. Thanks to them, my life was is on an uphill course, and it can only get better from here.

That's how I find myself, now, several years after the Forks debacle, at my graduation ceremony from Business School waiting for my name to be called.

"_Isabella Swan"_

As my name is called, and I walk towards the dean with a huge smile on my face, I briefly glance out to the crowd and my heart swells with pride. The entire Denali family is on their feet clapping and shouting my name. Charlotte's family is right beside them, making an equal amount of noise. My entourage takes up an entire row, with only four seats missing. Charlie Swan, Renée, Phil and Emma Dwyer. The school had automatically invited all four of them, simply due to them being my official family. No invitation on my part had been sent.

I couldn't help but think back to the pathetic excuse of a graduation ceremony I had a couple years ago in Forks. Oh, how my life had changed.

In a couple of weeks I would be starting my new job at one of the biggest marketing agencies in New York City, thanks to my connections with the Denali family. All I had to figure out now was where to live for the next couple of years.

I had been looking around in Brooklyn; since there was no way I would ever be able to afford to live anywhere in Manhattan for now.

"Bella, dear, congratulations!" Carmen Denali gushed, pulling me into her arms before I could even thank her.

"Thanks Mrs. D" I replied, wrapping my arms around her and giving them a quick squeeze. Mr. Denali pulls me into a hug as soon as I'm freed from his wife and then I'm passed along to all three of their daughters.

"Oh, daddy just give it to her I'm so impatient," squeals Tanya.

"T," hisses Kate. "It's supposed to be a surprise."

Irina snorts. "The word surprise doesn't register in Tanya's vocabulary."

Tanya sticks her tongue out at her sisters and looks up to her father, her blonde curls bouncing with her every step.

Mr. Denali sticks his hand into his pocket and takes out a little box and hands it to me. I open in carefully as Charlotte's family joins us, and pull out a little key.

I look up at the Denali's and smile. "Thanks, it's really pretty."

Irina moans. "Come on, B. Don't be stupid. It's not just a decoration."

I frown and look at the key more closely. "What does it open?" I ask slowly, glancing at Tanya's face. She's awful with secrets.

"It's the key to your very own apartment. On Park Ave. Its in the same building as ours."

"I can't afford this." I deadpan.

Kate rolls her eyes. "There's nothing to afford. It's a gift, Bella. There's nothing for you to pay for. No rent, no mortgage, no hidden fees, no nothing."

My jaw drops. "Thank you, but I can't accept this, it's too much-"

"You can, and you will." Carmen Denali looks me straight in the eye. "We own the building and we're giving you and Charlotte an apartment, to share. I'll be very offended if you say no, Isabella. So shut up and hug me."

I glance at Charlotte and she nods excitedly. The frown on my face slowly turns into a very huge smile and I rush into Carmen's arms as a few traitorous tears fall from my eyes.

At this point, no one and nothing can bring me down.

**A/N: The Cullen's appear either in the next chapter or the one following that one. The story is officially picking up. Thanks for all your support. **

**-Love, A.**


	8. Past & Future

**A/N: **I don't own Twilight. Any similarities or references belong to their own persons. ALSO: Thank you to those who pointed out my mix up about Bella's stepsisters name, it is Emma. Sorry about that, hopefully it wont happen again.

I wouldn't say that I'm not a morning person, because I'm pretty much an easygoing person at any time of day. Well, any reasonable time of day, of course. What is reasonable? Well, lately anything past seven on workdays and nine on weekends.

In high school, however, I used to sleep until three or four in the afternoon. Call it "peer pressure" if you want, but I had adapted to the sleep schedules my friends had. So earlier this morning when I got a call from Forks, Washington I figured it was a prank call and hadn't bothered answering.

Now, I was starting to seriously regret that decision. For starters, for anyone to even have my new cell phone number, they must either still be in contact with me or have spent the time to look me up.

Could it be that Charlie or Rosalie had called?

Both options are driving me crazy to think about. If Rosalie had called, I could finally have get the answers to all the questions I'd once had and get the chance properly tell her _exactly_ how I felt about her.

However, a call from her would most likely have come from Arizona.

A phone call from Charlie would be even more unlikely. When coming to NYU, I had called him twice every week, religiously. Halfway into first semester, my phone calls stopped going through and I hadn't heard of him since. Being the egotistical person I am, I hadn't tried any harder to contact him figuring that my number wouldn't change and if he had wanted to contact me, he could've.

The sound of my cellphone ringing from somewhere in the room breaks my thoughts and reality comes crashing down like a fucking avalanche.

All of a sudden, I'm all over the room, pushing away boxes and clothes that have pilled on the floor following my pathetic excuse of "settling in" my new apartment.

The tenacious sound of the damn iPhone ringtone taunts me from the window and I scramble to get it before I miss the call. Forks, Washington is written in white letters on my screen. Oh my god.

"Hello?"

"_Bella?"_

Of course it's me, idiot. You called my phone. "Yes, it's me."

"_It's Paul."_

Oh.

"Oh, hey Paul. What's up?"

"_What are you doing two weeks from now?"_

"Um … Most likely enjoying what I have left of summer before I start my new job."

"_Perfect. Be my date for the wedding." _

"What wedding? Who's getting married?"

Paul's breath got quitter and I heard some muffled voices from the other side of the phone.

"_You don't know? Didn't you get an invitation?"_

I huffed, annoyed.

"Clearly not. Who's getting married?"

"_Sue Clearwater." _

"Okay … No offence to Sue or anything, I mean I loved going to her diner and all but I don't know if I'd make the trip just to go to a wedding I wasn't invited to-"

"_She's marrying your dad." _

Excuse me, what?

"Yeah, I'll be your date. Text me the details."

My dad is getting married.

My dad is getting married and didn't invite me.

My dad is getting married and I didn't even know he was dating.

My dad is getting married and I'm gaining a stepmom and stepsiblings.

Seth almost burnt down a whole street the last time I saw him.

Leah fucking hates me.

Sue is ok.

Sue is okay, as a friend's mom.

Sue is okay, as the owner of a nice diner.

Sue is okay, as a tribal leader.

Sue is _not _okay as a stepmom. No one is okay as a stepmom.

Wasn't Sue married?

Weren't Charlie and Harry Clearwater good friends?

What kind of person doesn't invite their daughter to their own wedding? How come Seth hadn't told me that our parent's were dating? Granted, I hadn't really kept in touch with him, but still.

I had always watched Hollywood movies where a total outcast goes to a wedding, crashes it and ruins the entire day. I'd always told myself that if I'd ever attended a wedding like that, that I'd do everyone a favour and knock that asshole out myself.

Never had I ever thought that I would be put in a position where I'd want to do that. Where I would really love to just smash my face into the wedding cake, or object to the ceremony in general, that asshole to get shitfaced drunk and ruin the entire reception with an awful speech.

Yeah, I'd be down for that.

But first, I need answers. I am sick and tired of questions always floating around and always being denied answers I truly deserve. Honestly, was I cursed as a child? What is so hard about being straight up with me?

My phone buzzed and I looked down at it, noting that it was the information about the wedding. Exactly one week from now. Barely enough time to plan a trip and find a dress but hey, drastic times come for drastic measures.

Picking up my phone, I quickly dialled three series of numbers and brought the device to my ear.

"_Hello?" _The triplet's voices sing in harmony.

"Hey girls, it's Bella. I'm in desperate need for an impromptu shopping and mojito combo, as soon as possible."

"_Sure girl, I'm always up for that." _

"Glad I can count on you, Tan."

"_I have a lot of work to do…" _Sigh. Irina. _"But I guess I could take a break, for you." _

"How kind of you." I snort, falling back on to my bed and absentmindedly tugging on pieces of my waist length hair.

"_I'm good with that, but you seem down B. Who's butt am I kicking?" _

I groan. "My dads." The line stays quiet, silently asking for me to keep going. "He's getting remarried in a week and didn't even invite me. I never even knew he was dating someone."

"_So should we just skip the whole shopping pretence and go straight to day drinking?"_

I laugh. "No, I need a dress to wear to the wedding."

Irina gasps at the end of the line. _"You're crashing your dads wedding?" _

"No," I scowl. "I'm going as my friend's date, without telling my dad. It'll be a surprise."

The girls and I decide to meet up in the lobby of our building in thirty minutes and I hang up quickly. Pulling myself off of my bed I drag my feet down the hall to Charlotte's room and knock three times quickly followed my two slower ones.

"Come in!"

I open the door and laugh at the sight in front of me. Open boxes are everywhere, scattered around the room along with various clothes, books and other personal belongings. Charlotte, meanwhile, is splayed out on her bed with a magazine laying flat on her face.

"I see you've accomplished as much as I have."

I flop on to the bed beside me and we both just lay there for a while, not speaking. Eventually I fill her in and we both pull ourselves together and get dressed with two minutes to spare as we head to the lobby. We spot our three blondes quickly and soon the five of us are off.

Within minutes, all my past worries disappear and all I can really focus on is the god-awful lime green dress Charlotte was modelling for us. Really, how stores even allowed this shit to be on the racks was ridiculous.

Ignoring the disapproving looks from the sale clerks, I decide to fully enjoy the time I have with my girls and let all the pieces fall in to place. Life is good, and the people in mine are absolutely spectacular. Anyone who doesn't want to be in my life doesn't deserve to be. I was happy and nothing would change that.

**A/N: Who happens to be at the wedding? Wait and see. **

**Reviews make me very happy. **

**Love, A. **


	9. Old Friends & Strangers

**A/N: **I don't own Twilight. Any similarities or references belong to their own persons.

I never thought I would ever find myself in Paul's bedroom ever again. Especially not in Paul's bedroom, wearing a dress and shoes that cost more than the down payment on this house was.

You'd think that with all the money he makes he would want to buy a new house in a better area. But not Paul, oh no, Paul insists on staying where he grew up. A thing about him I admired but couldn't share an opinion on.

I admire myself vainly in the floor length mirror that Paul had in his room, not surprising because he was one of the vainest people I knew. My hair is pulled back into a messy ponytail and my winged eyeliner is so on point I'm actually in awe. The dress that Kate had picked out was a long sleeved navy blue number that hugged my body all the way down to my waist where it flared out. The back had a huge cut out and the length was about mid-thigh.

In my opinion, totally appropriate for a beach wedding you aren't invited to. I paired the look with bohemian gold jewellery to play down the outfit a bit.

A wolf whistle catches my attention and I turn my head to spot Paul, himself.

"You trying to upstage the bride, B?"

A slow smile forms on my face. "Not at all, I don't even remember what she looks like."

I slip on my matching heeled-booties and grab my MK bag, giving myself a quick onceover before heading out the door with Paul following me.

"You know the wedding is on the beach right?"

"Yeah, so?"

"You think you'll be able to walk on sand in _those_?"

I look Paul straight in the eyes, allowing myself a quick ten seconds to appreciate their stormy grey colour. "Paul, I could walk a tightrope in heels and not fall."

Paul smirks at me and opens the door to his Mercedes. The man wouldn't invest in a good house but would die for his cars. Typical.

"Just a fair warning, B. Your dad hates me so seeing you with me probably won't make him very happy."

I look at him, semi-appalled semi-confused. "If my dad hates you, why are you invited to his wedding?"

"Sue's on the council since Harry died, she has to invite everyone in La Push to her wedding. Even the people she doesn't like."

"Sue doesn't like you either?"

Paul barks out a laugh. "No one likes me here. They respect me, they need me, they fear me but very few actually like me. Other than the guys I mean-"

I'm going to my fathers wedding with the guy the whole town hates. Great.

"Thanks for warning me, asshole."

"I'm telling you now, aren't I? Don't worry, B. I'll protect you from the big bad wolves." Paul teases as he parks near the beach entrance. The entire parking lot is filled with run down trucks and vehicles I've lost the habit of seeing.

From what I can tell, the wedding is about to start momentarily. There is a walkway drawn out by flower petals that led to the shore and white chairs draped with some type of pretty looking fabric were set up on both sides.

The entire scene seems like something out of a movie; definitely something that my dad and Sue Clearwater couldn't come up with on their own.

Paul and I get out of his car and walk towards the wedding. I start walking towards the right side of the beach, where a few chairs are freed near the back where no one would see us. A hand wraps around my wrist and pulls me in the opposite direction, closer to the alter.

I can physically feel the eyes of everyone burning holes into my body and honestly its quite unsettling.

"What," I hiss in Paul's direction, "are you doing?"

"You didn't come here to not be seen, B."

Annoyed, I huff in his direction ignoring the amused look on his face and sit down next to the huge russet skinned man that's smirking at the two of us.

"About time you showed up, Paul." He sneered in a somehow teasing way, before glancing down at me. "Hey, B."

I frown at him. "Have we met before?"

The strange man barks out a laugh. "It's Sam. Sam Uley."

My eyes widen and make a sweep over the man sitting beside me. Huge muscles bulging from the button down shirt that he was wearing, long legs that could be one and a half of mine and near pitch black eyes. A far cry from the lanky boy I once knew.

"No fucking way, whoops sorry. I don't think you're supposed to swear at weddings."

A musical laugh comes from the woman sitting beside Sam. "I don't think you're _supposed_ to crash them either. I'm Emily Young, Sam's fiancé."

_Fiancé?_

No way. This girl is beautiful. Like, Adriana Lima beautiful. There's no way in hell this girl was willingly tying herself down to Sam Uley, no matter how muscled he became.

"How much is he paying you to marry him?" I inquire seriously.

"That's what we've all been wondering."

I scoot to the edge of my seat and crane my neck down to see who had said that. My eyes land on a russet toned girl with waist length hair and piercing green eyes. Beside her sat three boys that looked freakishly like Sam. Thankfully, their eyes were a huge clue to their identity.

"Jared and Kim? You guy's are still together? Damn." I nod my head at them, very impressed. My eyes scan Kim's finger, looking for a diamond that isn't there before glancing at the two other guys. "Collin, Brady. It's been a while."

"Too fucking long, B. Forks has missed you." Brady notes, giving me an appreciative once over. Paul notices quickly and throws his arm around my shoulders.

"Can't really say I've missed Forks," I state wryly glancing up at the overhead sky. "But I have missed you guys."

Sam clears his throat and looks at me meaningfully. "Have you seen Rose since what happened?"

He looks away quickly and turns his attention to Emily. I'm not sure if it's my expression or Paul's that pushes him to do so but I'm grateful for whatever it is.

I turn my attention to the alter, where my father is standing with his hands behind his back casually conversing with Seth, who hasn't changed a bit other than the expected growth spurt. Dad looks happy, happier than I've ever seen him with Renée and I. Although, I guess it's to be expected. Renée was never a good wife, and as for me well he always did want a son.

The typical wedding march starts to play, from a CD probably, and I turn my eyes to the back of the beach.

Leah Clearwater walks out wearing a way too short white sundress, a bouquet of pink flowers in her hand. Her hair is cut short, barely past her ears and her piercing gray eyes glare angrily in front of her. Although a smile graces her lips, by her body language I can tell it's forced.

A couple of steps behind Leah, Sue walks out wearing a simple floor length white strapless dress that could easily pass as a maxi-dress from pacsun if it was in a different fabric. Unlike her daughter, Sue's smile could illuminate the whole beach and makes me feel somewhat guilty for once wanting to sabotage this very moment.

The entire ceremony plays out on a one-hour span and before I know it I'm back in Paul's car driving towards Sue's diner for the reception, where the real fun is.

"Who organized the wedding?" I ask curiously.

"Hmm?" Paul answers, glancing down to his side mirrors nervously.

My eyes narrow at the unusual move and my curiosity heightens. "Paul, who organized the wedding."

"Christ, Bella. I don't know."

_Bella?_

"Paul. I'll ask you one last time, yeah? Who organized the wedding."

Paul's grip on the steering wheel tightens and he glances at me nervously before answering in a curt tone. "Alice."

"Alice? Alice _what_?"

"Alice." I send him a hard glare. He sighs and swerves to park the car right in front of the diner. "Alice Cullen."

By the look on Paul's face, he half expected me to either burst into tears or throw a temper tantrum worthy of a reality tv show crew to film it. Quite honestly, I expected Esme Cullen to be at the wedding since she and my father have worked together for some kind of charity in the past.

I never met Alice Cullen so her presence in my fathers wedding couldn't be more irrelevant to me. I look at Paul and shrug.

"I don't care if Esme and Annie or Alice or whatever her name is are here. As long as _they_ aren't, I couldn't care less."

I pull down the flap above the car and look at my reflection in the little mirror it provides. Makeup and hair still flawless, great.

"B, they will be there."

"Who?" I ask absentmindedly. Is that a zit forming on my right temple? Ew, hope not.

"Emmett and Rosalie."

The blood in my veins goes ice cold and my eyes harden. I quickly close the flappy thing and look at him. "How do you know?"

"Sam saw them at the wedding. He gave me the car ride to warn you." Paul rubs the back of his neck anxiously. "We don't have to go if you don't want to."

Come on, B. You've waited years to be able to face her, now you can. What do you have to be afraid of? You're successful, happy; you have friends and family that will never let you down, a great job waiting for you in Manhattan and a wonderful life up ahead.

Nothing, not even Rosalie Hale can change that.

"Of course not Paul, let's go."

We both step out of the car and walk towards the small diner, Paul flanking me slightly with his arm around my waist. We look powerful, intimidating, cold. Everything I wanted us to project.

The two of us walk through the open door and into the restaurant with our heads held high. Immediately, several sets of eyes land on our frames.

Here we go.

**Love you guys – A. **

**Reviews make me happy, and make me write faster (****winky face****)**


	10. Rosalie Hale

**A/N: **I don't own Twilight. Any similarities or references belong to their own persons.

_From Rosalie's pov_

The Forks Cullen house hasn't changed much since the last time I've been here. Granted, that time was less than three months ago. Emmett and I make a point to come back to Forks often, just to check up on my mom and all of our other friends.

I think somewhere in the back of our heads we both secretly hoped and dreaded the day our paths would possibly collide with _hers. _For the past six years we've been anticipating the moment when we would all meet again. It hasn't happened yet.

Bella Swan hasn't returned to Forks since she'd left. The ultimate betrayal any small town kid could do to its friends and family. Sure, we all talked about leaving and never coming back, but none of us had been so cruel as to actually do it. Poor Charlie. I'd always wondered why she'd never come back.

Was it because of Emmett? Was it because of me? Was it because of her mom? Or was it because New York was just so much fun that she couldn't bear to leave it? Deep down I knew that I was the last person in Forks that deserved to know the answer.

The fact that Bella never came back will always irk me.

I had always expected her to. I had always hopped that one-day we would run into each other at the park and I could explain everything to her. She would be angry, I would be upset, and soon enough we would make up and be B & R again. I had stopped believing that by the end of freshman year. I figured that she had probably shut me out of her mind like how she'd so easily done to her mom by then.

Six years later and my thoughts of reconciliation are nowhere near plausible.

At first, it was hard to be in the Cullen house knowing that every time I had been there previously, Bella was also present. I think it was hard for Esme too. I can't help but think that even to this day, when she sees me in her son's arms she mentally pictures me as a brunette with warm brown eyes rather than a blonde with piercing blue ones.

I put the final pin in my hair and walk downstairs to meet the rest of the family. In the dining room, I walk in to find Alice, Edward and Jasper eating club sandwiches, all three of them completely concentrated on the cellphones in their hands.

"How sociable you three are," I note wryly.

Alice looks up from her Blackberry sheepishly and turns it off. She gives me a quick lookover and nods approvingly. "You look great. Blue really suits you."

I grin at her and sit down in front of her, leaving the chair to my left empty. Alice and I had met in ASU. We were roommates and once she found out I was dating her brother well the two of us became inseparable.

"Everything suits her," corrects Emmett as he comes out of the kitchen holding two plates full of food. "Hey babe." He whispers into my ear before planting a kiss on my cheek and sitting down beside me on the large rectangular table.

Jasper sneers from the other side of the table. "Dude, can you not? That's my sister man." I snort at his conservative ways and thank heaven that Alice is slowly bringing him out of the military-style routine he developed in Texas. The two of them meeting at ASU was probably the highlight of my life.

Not only did I get my brother back, but also he got a girlfriend who just happened to be related to the guy I'm dating. Honestly, what more could a girl ask for.

"Good morning kids."

Esme and Carlisle walk out of the kitchen and join us for lunch. We are all dressed up and honestly look like a pretty gorgeous family. We'll probably be the most attractive family at the wedding.

One year after we had all left for ASU, Esme had gotten back together with Carlisle. She had apparently decided that living with all her kids together meant more to her than a betrayal done a few years ago. Esme was a saint and firmly believed that everyone deserved a second chance.

I remembered times when Bella would go on and on ranting about how much of an awful person Carlisle was for what he had done to Esme and couldn't help but wonder how she would feel knowing this.

Of course, Bella Swan will never know because Bella has never come back and probably never will.

We all continue on eating quietly until Esme breaks the silence. "Do you think Isabella will be at the wedding?"

Emmett sits up straight and glances at me with wide eyes, clearly dreading the possibility.

I take his hand from underneath the table and squeeze it comfortingly. "I doubt it. It's been six years and she hasn't come back yet."

Esme looks at me and nods hollowly.

Jasper glances up and frowns. "It is her dads wedding though, why wouldn't she come?"

"Wait who's Isabella?" Asks Edward, finally looking up from his phone.

"She's my ex, bro."

Edward glances at me and smirks teasingly. "Scared Rose?"

"Of course she's not scared," snaps Alice. "And Isabella probably won't be in attendance. She hasn't RSVP'd."

Despite Alice's reassuring words, I still feel a twinge of worry and excuse myself to go get some air out on the porch.

A wedding was never the place to do this. The reunion between the two of us was something I didn't wish to happen now. Five years ago would've been perfect. We both would've been in college, financially and professionally in the same boat.

Now who knows what she's like? Six years can really change a person. Maybe she's married to a rich guy like Lauren Mallory, or pregnant with her third child like Jessica Stanley.

Either way, I'm sure she's not a college dropout with no degree and no job at 23.

"She's not going to be there you know."

I turn around and see Alice standing in the doorway, her small frame barely taking up half the door.

"You can't know that for sure, Alice."

"Actually, I can. Charlie and Sue left me the task of doing the guest list and mailing the invitations. She doesn't even know her dads getting married."

I gape at Alice with my mouth wide open. "You're serious? Oh my god, Alice."

"What?" She asks defensively. "This is my first major project, and I wanted you all there. There's no way I'm letting a scorned brat create drama at my first real job!"

I can't help but let out a laugh. "She's really not a bad person, Ali."

Alice shrugs. "I don't like her, and if she really did care about her dad she would've seen him sometime in the last six years."

Despite the twinge of guilt I feel in the pit of my stomach, I can't help but agree with her and the two of us join the others back in the house.

Within an hour and a half, we're all at the beach waiting for the ceremony to start. Alice is somewhere with Sue, whereas we are all seated on the third row of the groom's side: the side with the most vacant seats.

Edward leans over to me and pokes me to capture my attention.

"What?"

"Tell me more about this Isabella Swan."

"There's nothing to tell," I hiss, annoyed. Even when she's not here people care about her more. "She and I were best friends since we were little girls and she dated Emmett all throughout high school. During the summer after senior year, her and Emmett kind of fizzled out, he and I got together and we all went our respective ways to college."

Edward blinks twice. "Basically, you ran away with your best friends boyfriend?"

I sneer up at him. "No, I didn't run away with her boyfriend. Fuck off, Edward."

_You kind of did_.

Fuck off inner voice, I think to myself.

Edward, as if he could read my thoughts, throws his head back and laughs. "And you say I'm the asshole."

"You are," I snap. "Maggie cried for weeks after you dumped her." I recall.

"Maggie was way too clingy for my taste," he answers back. Edwards green eyes dart behind me and widen before darkening. "Who's that?"

I turn around and gasp, causing all the other members of the family to turn around as well. There she was. "Bella."

Edward chokes on thin air. "That's Bella? Dude, you dumped _that?"_

"Shut up, Edward."

Their banter barely registers in my head. There she was, flawless, beautiful and wearing an outfit worth more than what I have in my bank account. She attracts attention without wanting it, just like when we were younger. Just by looking at her you can see how successful the move was to her. How much good it had done. New York hadn't broken her, it had done nothing but make her better. She wasn't even smiling and I could tell that she was happy. Nothing in her face showed that she was sad, or missing Forks. Missing me, or my mom, or my dad, or Emmett. Bella Swan is a thing that cannot be broken.

She is perfection, and she always has been. I've always been jealous of it. I took a person from her and she still came out a champion.

She is unbreakable, simply perfection. As always.

And I, compared to her, am nothing. As always.

**A/N: Your reviews were so amazing I just felt like I had to give you a little gift. A trip inside Rosalie's head. The next chapter will continue the story, in Bella's pov and I'll try to have it up soon. **

**Love you all, keep the reviews coming. – A.**


	11. Lies & Honesty

**A/N: **I don't own Twilight. Any similarities or references belong to their own persons.

We'd hardly been in the diner for ten minutes, and the constant stares accompanied with whispers were already starting to get old. Due to the man who's arm was currently around my waists status in this town, it was hard to decipher whether those stares were meant for Paul or I.

At this rate, I'd have to assume they were for the both of us.

I hadn't seen Seth or Leah at all since the wedding, thankfully. It would be nice to be able to at least speak to my father before getting kicked out. I couldn't wait to see the look on his face. Horror? Disgust? Shock? Annoyance? All probable answers, the wait was killing me.

Judging by the décor and wedding itself, Charlie and Sue will probably be making the big cliché entrance for the reception. This Alice Cullen doesn't seem like someone who would let something that significant slide. In fact, the entire set-up was practically perfect, straight out of a fairy tale. I hated it.

This wedding screamed money, luxury, power and perfection. None of which applied to Charlie or Sue. In my opinion, a wedding should be planned accordingly to the bride and grooms personalities and lifestyles.

I'm a pretty sure pearl encrusted centerpiece and luxurious chandeliers have no part in Charlie and Sue's personalities or lifestyles. The diner didn't even look like a diner, but something you would see on an outrageous TLC bridal show.

"Ladies and gentlemen," oh god. It's starting. "Make some noise for the newlyweds Mr. and Mrs. Swan!"

My dad and his bride walk out, and I'm suddenly thankful for the years of ballet that my mother once put me through. I glance straight at the bridge between his nose, hoping that my intensive glare draws his attention to me.

The bullshit trick that had never worked for me before, finally does and his glance locks with mine. His expression is hard to read; I guess years of being a cop have taught him to hide well his emotions. However, he remains my dad and I know him very well since many of his expressions mirror my own.

The reaction I read is surprise, shock, and happiness. No. I must be reading him wrong. You don't react _happily _to someone crashing your wedding.

"Why is he coming this way?" Paul whispers in my ear. I shrug, this wasn't part of the plan.

Charlie walks towards me with a huge grin on his face, followed by Sue who looks just as happy.

"What the fuck," hisses Paul. My thoughts mirror his.

"Bella," Charlie pulls me into a hug, which I don't return. "I'm so glad you could make it."

"What?"

"I mean, of course not having heard from you in years I wasn't sure about your personal situation and whether or not you could make it to the wedding. We sent you your invitation on a whim."

I sneer. "What invitation? I only knew you were getting married because Paul told me."

Sue looks aghast. "We specifically told Alice to send you one at your new apartment address!" She looks at Charlie and frowns.

"Perhaps it slipped her mind, or got lost in the mail," he offers. "Alice was pretty sharp on everything else."

"You know my new address? And you haven't bothered to contact me at all these past few years, dad? Thanks, that's very fatherly of you."

Charlie smiles a sad smile, and shakes his head. "Of course not, Bella. Do you honestly think I didn't know how unhappy you were in Forks? I want you to be successful, honey. There's no way you could've done that constantly looking back at your old man in Forks."

Part of me wanted to scream, yell and throw vases at him, argue that it wasn't his right to take away the only family I had left.

The rational part of me took his words at heart. Would I have been so close to Char and the triplets if I hadn't spent most of the holidays at their house? Maybe, but not close enough to obtain all the connections I had gotten due to our friendship.

Both parts of me were mature enough to know that despite his choices, he still means something to me. I'll never be the daddy's girl that gets spoiled constantly, like Tanya. But I just could be my father's pride, his only blood family.

I hug my dad tightly and kiss his cheek. "You're my only family, dad. Don't ever do that to me again." I warn sternly.

He chuckles and kisses my forehead before nodding politely at Paul and walks off to talk to his many friends present.

"That was very mature of you, B."

I roll my eyes at Paul. "I'm not seventeen anymore, sometimes you have to be the bigger person, you know?"

Paul looks past my shoulder and smirks. "Oh really? Even to them?"

I turn around abruptly and lock eyes with someone I wished to never see ever again. Rosalie looks the same; she hasn't aged a bit physically. By the haughty look in her eyes, I could almost bet that the same could be said for her personality.

What would Bella at 17 do? Probably throw my drink on Rosalie, and kick Emmett in the balls.

What would Rosalie want me to do? Probably ignore her and her happy little family.

Of course, I'm no longer 17 and Rosalie's wishes are the last of my concerns. There's no way I could live with myself knowing I was in a room with them and didn't do something about it.

I can't react badly; they'll think I still care. Which I do, to some extent, a betrayal that big cannot be forgotten no matter how much time passes. But I can't let them know that.

I have to do what they expect the least.

I turn to Paul and smirk. "Let's go say hi."

I walk straight to them, with my head high, and a smile on my face. Rosalie and Emmett both look like wish they could die. The bronze haired boy looks strangely amused, and turned on? Maybe? Esme looks like she found the damn fountain of youth.

"Rosalie, Emmett, it's been so long. It's _great _to see you both again!" I smile widely, pulling them both in for an awkward hug. "Esme!" I call out, and pull the fragile woman into my arms. "I'm so happy to see you."

My tone is so genuine that I almost believe it myself.

I glance momentarily at the bronze haired boy and the blonde man beside Esme. "I'm sorry, how rude! I don't think we've met. I'm Bella." I stick my hand out to both of them, and shake theirs respectively.

"I'm Edward," says the boy. "Emmett's brother."

I nod. "Ah, the infamous Edward."

I turn to the blonde and raise my eyebrow.

"I'm Carlisle, Esme's husband."

Oh. _Oh. _

The sharp look I throw at Esme is enough to have her bow her head slightly. I simply give Carlisle a curt nod and offer no other words.

I draw my attention back to Rosalie and Emmett.

"So what have you two been up to?"

Emmett clears his throat. "I-uh- I've been offered a job with the NFL in sports management and Rose is currently still looking."

Still looking? She doesn't have a job? What about our marketing plans?

"You don't play anymore?" I ask Emmett.

He frowns slightly. "No, I got injured in my second year at ASU."

I nod understandingly. "What about you Rosalie? No marketing firms in Phoenix to your liking?"

A cruel part of me enjoys when she flinches at the sound of her full name leaving my lips.

"No," she snaps. "Actually, I didn't go into marketing but mechanics."

I raise my eyebrow at her, shocked. "How unexpected."

"What about you, B?" she asks, smirking as she utters my nickname.

My eyes narrow at the look on her face.

_Don't brag, Bella. It's incredibly petty. _

"I'm starting my new job at a marketing firm in Manhattan next week."

Rosalie looks impressed and slightly envious.

_You could've been by my side, you fool _

My inner rambling is cut short as a tiny girl rushes to our little group.

"I'm sorry, Miss? You're not on the guest-list."

I glance at her and snort. "I'm Isabella Swan."

She sneers at me. "Yeah, you're really not on the guest-list. I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

"I'm sorry, and you are?"

"Alice Cullen, wedding planner. I made the guest-list myself and specifically remember not putting your name on it."

No fucking way.

This little midget is the reason why I never got an invitation to my own fathers wedding?

_Ok, Bella. Think. _

_What can you possibly do about this situation? Scream, shout, and make a scene; just like you would've at seventeen. _

_Argue, tell the shrimp off and insult the shit out of her? Sure, it's momentarily affective, but not enough to really have an effect. _

_If anybody can handle this situation, it's Chief Swan. _

I had rarely ever seen my dad angry, but I knew that it wasn't a pretty sight. The wrath of Charlie Swan is something to be avoided at all possible times. He's got connections in this area. With a flick of his radio, Alice Cullen's wedding planning industry could go up in flames.

Just as my father had connections in most of the big regions of the state, Sue has major connections in all the tribes.

If I want this pest punished, I would have to step aside and leave it to the bride and groom.

"No problem, Alice was it? I was just about ready to leave anyway, this wedding is a bit tacky for my taste."

I spin on my heel, grab Paul's hand and make my way towards the exit before making a sharp right at the counter towards my dad and Sue.

"Dad?"

"Yeah, Bells?"

"I just talked to the wedding planner, apparently I'm purposely not invited or something? I'd rather not be labelled as a wedding crasher so I'm just going to head on home, ok?"

"Wait, what?"

"Yeah, she said something about not putting me on the guest-list. I think it's because of mine and Emmett's past? Whatever, I'm not in the mood for drama. Call me later though, we'll have dinner before my flight tomorrow."

I send my dad a blinding smile before heading out, with a laughing Paul in tow. As he drives away, I see the distant shadow of my father and his face colour changing from white, to red, to purple.

I almost feel sad that I won't be able to witness the scene that is about to happen, but I'm sure my dad will make me proud.

Honestly, I should feel bad but I can't seem to. Maybe I'm not as mature as I thought I was. Truthfully, I'm fine that way. Sometimes you just need to allow yourself to act like you're seventeen again.

**A/N: Here you go, I hope it rose to all your expectations. **

**I'm sorry if any of you feel like the chapters aren't long enough or aren't updated fast enough, I try my best to balance fanfic, work and school at the same time. **

**Your reviews are amazing, and make me so happy, keep them coming. **

**Love – A.**


	12. New & Old

**A/N: **I don't own Twilight. Any similarities or references belong to their own persons.

They say home is where the heart is, for me that just happens to be in a loft in Manhattan with one of my best friends. Although the trip to Forks turned out to be much more pleasant than what I had expected, the fact remains that I don't regret leaving.

I do feel better now knowing that my father doesn't hate me, and is in good hands. In fact, just before leaving Forks I was able to visit his new home with Sue and stay over for dinner.

_Charlie and Sue's new house was just on the cost of Fourth Beach, right in the border between La Push and Forks, so that they both could be at a close distance to their jobs. _

_The house was everything I'd expected it to be, homely and rustic. Leah had her own room upstairs, whereas Seth's was in the basement at his demand. _

"_We have a room set up for you upstairs too, Bella." _

_I glanced up at Sue, surprised at her statement. She'd smiled at me warmly. _

"_You are his only family, Bella. You will always have a place in this house." _

_Sue, Seth and Leah mixed wonderfully with Charlie. Seth's sporty attitude satisfied all of Charlie's requests for a kid to cheer on at sporting events and to watch games with. Leah's witty personality kept him on his feet just as Sue's motherly aura kept him in line. _

_Together, they all formed the perfect family. I had almost felt like an outcast until diner. _

"_So dad how was the rest of the reception?" I'd asked slyly. _

_Charlie's face reddened slightly and he frowned. "It was great, I'm sorry you had to miss it bells. That Alice Cullen I tell you, she seemed so nice." _

_Here's my chance. "You didn't make a scene did you?" I ask in fake horror. _

_Sue shakes her head. "He wanted to, but I stopped him in time." _

_Seth snorts. "I don't know why you did, she deserves to get yelled at." _

"_Your mothers right, Seth. We're very respected in this community, as are the Cullens. We can not tarnish that no matter how much we dislike them," explains my dad to my dismay. _

"_But she's getting away with it!" Seth protests angrily, deep down I protest with him. _

"_Not really man, I accidentally tripped and all my red wine spilled on her dress," Leah cuts in. I send her an approving nod, which she returns with a smirk. We may not like each other but the Cullen hate reigns strong. _

"_Enough kids," orders Sue. "Karma will take care of it." _

_A comment to which I'd made a face and kept on eating my spaghetti, sulking slightly. If I had known my dad was such a saint I would've made the scene myself._

I feel a twinge of disappointment in the pit of my stomach at the thought of Alice Cullen slipping by with her childish actions unpunished. Hopefully this "karma" Sue talks about comes in effect quickly.

"Is it just me," Charlotte comes in my room dressed in five layers too many. "Or is it really fucking cold."

I glance down at my shorts and tank top. "It's just you," I snicker. "But I'm glad you're here, I have no idea what to wear."

Charlotte smirks at me and walks over to my closet. Within minutes she's got an outfit together for me. She sets the dress pants, blazer and white shirt on my bed before rummaging through my jewellery boxes, as I get dressed.

"Are you nervous?"

I bite my lip out of habit. "Kind of. I mean, it's my first job right out of university and I really don't want to mess it up. Most people don't even get this kind of opportunity and I don't want to disappoint Mr. D either."

Char hands me a chunky turquoise necklace. "Wear this with your heels, you'll be fine, you're great at marketing."

I nod absentmindedly and glance at myself in the mirror, putting the finishing touches to my outfit.

"Better get going." I mutter, grabbing my purse and slipping my shoes on. "Bye Char!" I call out.

The entire elevator ride and short walk towards my new work place is quiet, despite the regular hustle and bustle of New York City. I mainly use the time alone to think and plan out my day ahead. Everything I've been practicing for leads up to this. This first day at the place I hope to work at for the rest of my life.

I take a sharp left and use the revolving door to enter the large building, tall enough that I can't see the top. I take the elevator and press for the 23rd floor, taking a series of deep breathes. The "ding" from the elevator comes way too fast for my liking and I take one last breath before exiting with my head held high.

I walk straight to the front desk where a pretty blonde is sitting with her hair pulled back in a tight ponytail. She looks young, about 16 maybe.

"Hi, I'm Isabella Swan." I reach my hand over to shake hers, much to her surprise. "It's my first day, I believe Mr. Volturi asked me to meet him at quarter past nine."

The young girl nods. "I'm Jane, Mr. Volturi is waiting for you actually, follow me."

I smile at her gratefully, which she returns slowly before leading me down a hall. The entire office is dripping in crystal chandeliers, expensive artwork and vases that look like they're worth more than what I have in my bank account.

Jane pushes through a glass door, without knocking much to my surprise, and closes it behind us. "Isabella Swan is here."

The man sitting behind a huge mahogany desk stands up and greets me with wide arms. "Isabella," he calls walking towards me and shaking my hand firmly. "It's a pleasure. Eleazer told me such great things about you."

"I will do my best rise to all your expectations, Mr. Volturi."

"I'm sure you will, Isabella. Please, call me Aro." He walks back to his desk and gestures for me to sit down.

"As you may know, not many people get the chance to work for a marketing firm this known straight out of university. However, do not be fooled. Your connections with the Denali family only got you here halfway, your academic results and professors got you the job."

My professors? Aro talked to my professors?

"I have another new employee starting today, I'm going to give you both the Vogue file. It will be up to the two of you to take care of all the marketing needs they might have for their next issue. Vogue is a very big client of ours, Isabella. Don't let me down."

"I won't, Aro."

Aro smiles. "That's what I like to hear, Jane will lead you to the office you'll be sharing with your newest co-worker. He should join you in the next ten minutes."

I follow Jane out the office and towards what I expect to be a small cubicle. That small cubicle instead turns out to be an office slightly smaller than Aro's. The entire backside is covered with windows leaving me with a breathtaking view of New York City. There are two medium sized desks at opposite sides of the office and a leather couch near the door.

There's a black and white abstract art piece against the right wall and a huge money plant right underneath it, similar to the one near Aro's desk.

"There's a money plant in almost every room here," Jane informs me rolling her eyes slightly. "Aro thinks it brings us luck and positive energy."

I struggle to hide my smile at the exasperation in her tone. "Have you known him for a long time?"

Jane laughs. "My whole life basically, Aro's my dad."

I raise an eyebrow at her. "Really? That's cool. Must be nice to have him close all the time," I walk over to the desk closest to the window. "Do I get to pick which desk is mine?"

Jane looks at me briefly before nodding. "I'm going to get back to work, good luck Bella."

I smile at her and sit down at my desk, oh my god, my desk. I thought I'd get a cubicle and I end up with an office! I turn my chair around and let myself absorb the sights in front of me. From the corner of my eye I can see the Chrysler building and the sunlight behind it.

It looks like something I only could dream about when I was little and I struggle to fight the urge to pinch myself to make sure that this is real.

The door behind me opens and I turn around to greet my new partner.

Jane walks in first and smiles at me. "Isabella Swan I'd like you to meet your partner, Edward Cullen."

His name barely registers in my head, I'm still smiling professionally at the doorway until his green eyes lock with mine. They're exactly like Esme's but somehow brighter, deeper. Why is Edward Cullen in New York City?

I smile at Jane politely until she closes the door behind her.

Edward looks at me and lets out a short laugh. "No fucking way. You work here?"

I ignore his question and groan. "Please tell me you live in Manhattan alone and the rest of the Brady bunch is in Forks.

Edward looks amused. "I've had this job waiting for me since I graduated. I was supposed to come alone but my dad got transferred to the children's hospital here and mom moved with him, obviously. Emmett got drafted to the Giants and so Rose came with obviously since she's jobless."

He looks at me and smirks. "Alice was supposed to stay in Seattle but somehow she's been finding it awfully difficult to get clients lately, something about ruining the chief's wedding?" No way Charlie, you rock. "So she's decided to move with us."

My face falls. They're all here?

"Look Edward, I may not like your family but I don't really know you that well so I'm willing to put that all behind us. We do have a job to do, so let's do it. Yeah?"

Edward smiles at me and agrees and we both pull out our laptops and get to work. I try my best to focus despite the feeling in my stomach. They're all here, in Manhattan.

Why can I never escape them?

**A/N: **

**Love- A**


	13. Edward Cullen

**A/N: **I don't own Twilight. Any similarities or references belong to their own persons.

_Edward Cullen pov_

Damn. Isabella Swan. Out of all the girls in the marketing field, it had to be the one girl I was wickedly attracted to, but couldn't get. Working with her won't be easy, just spending the day with her today was hard, even though we were both on our separate laptops. All I wanted to do was sit her on my lap and kiss her neck.

The biggest struggle is to speak to her and not flirt. Or to listen to her speaking, and actually pay attention to what she says and not how her lips move. Just today when speaking to her about Emmett and Rosalie being in New York, I barely knew what words I was saying. I'd even accidentally said that Emmett had been drafter to the Giants instead of hired.

For some reason, it had bothered me yet pleased me that she hadn't picked up on my mistake. Was she just not listening to what I was saying? Did she just not care about my brother and his personal situation anymore?

"Why do you look like you're solving the hardest riddle in the world," Alice teases as she walks over to sit in front of me.

"I guess I have a lot to think about, with the move and work."

Alice groans and lets her head fall into her hands. "Tell me about it. I've been scouting Manhattan all day looking for possible clients or some publicity."

"And?"

She frowns. "No such luck. This is Manhattan, home of some of the best and most renowned wedding planners in the world. Why would anyone go for a little girl from Seattle whose only experience was disastrous."

"I wouldn't really call it a disaster, Alice."

"The bride and groom trash talked me to all of Washington!"

I grimace. "Yeah, that's pretty bad. Although, you did kick out the groom's only daughter."

Alice sneers at me. "I didn't know he wanted her there, E. She hasn't been to Forks in several years from what I'd heard. I just wanted them to have a great day, and look how they repaid me. I have no references!"

I shrug and lean back into my chair. "If that's the case, why don't you just apologize to Bella and she'll probably fix the whole thing over with her dad. I can ask her for you, if you'd like."

Alice's head snaps up and her eyes narrow. "How do you know how to contact her?"

"I didn't tell you? She's my partner on the Vogue file at work."

Alice's eyes widen like saucers and she huffs angrily before storming upstairs.

"What was that about?" Emmett asks as he walks into the kitchen and drinks some orange juice, straight from the carton.

I get up and snatch the carton out of his hand. "Dude, that's mine. Get your own!" I pour the carton over my mouth and take a huge gulp. "Alice is upset that my partner at work is Bella Swan."

Emmett glares at me.

Jesus, what the hell is wrong with my family and this girl?

"Seriously, Edward. Stay away from her."

"What the hell Em, why do you care? It's not like I can avoid her, we're partnered up for this really important file."

"I don't care what you do at work. Just don't play around with her, E. You're just going to hurt her."

I smirk at my brother. "That's never bothered you with any other girl."

Emmett's nostrils flare and suddenly my back is pressed up against the fridge, placed there by my brother's monstrous hands. "Bella Swan isn't just another girl, E. Back off."

This time, it's my turn to get angry. I push him off with both hands and puff my chest out, bumping it with his. "You don't get to tell me what to do. Does Rose know how much you still care about Bella?"

Emmett backs down immediately. "It's not like that, bro. You're just gonna play with her. This girl doesn't need another Cullen hurting her like that."

"Another Cullen? So because you and her broke up once upon a time ago, I can't get a chance with her?"

Emmett shakes his head and walks away. "Whatever, E. Do what you want."

Is this whole family bipolar?

There must be something I don't know for everyone to be reacting so negatively to this girl. I need to know what it is. If there's anything I hate, it's being the last to know things.

I pull out my phone and dial the number of the woman in question.

"_Hello?"_

"Bella? It's Edward. I was wondering if you were doing anything right now."

"_Um, not really. Why?"_

"Great! Seeing as we're now partners, and we'll be spending a lot of time together in the near future I thought it would be a good idea to just break the ice over dinner."

My statement is met with silence on the other side. Crap.

"I know this great place in the village, it's super casual. Nothing fancy," I try again.

"_Sure. Just text me the address and I'll meet you there in an hour." _

The place I picked out in the village is one of the hidden secrets of Manhattan, that I only know about thanks to my friend Riley from ASU who'd grown up in Manhattan and given me a list of places I had to try out.

The food is great, prices low, and the setting is perfect for finding out the deepest an darkest secrets of the person you're dining with.

I get there before Bella, just as I'd wanted it, and have the pleasure of seeing her walk in. Her hair is flowing at her sides and she looks absolutely radiant, even in the dim lighting. Her eyes light up when she spots me and I can't keep the grin off of my face. She's absolutely adorable.

"This place looks amazing," she sits down in front of me and sets her bag on the floor. "How do you know about it?"

"I can't reveal all my secrets, now can I?"

A normal girl would have flushed and given me a hidden smile while glancing from underneath her eyelashes. Unlike the reaction I'd expected, Bella's eyes fall flat and narrow. Shit. Maybe she hates my family as much as they have mixed feelings for her? Yet at the wedding she seemed fine.

Thankfully, a waiter comes and takes both our orders, giving me the opportunity to review my game plan. Although I had originally planned on flirting all night and getting answers through coy looks and crooked smiles, that doesn't seem to be working.

Isabella Swan seems to be the kind of girl that doesn't want me to mess around. She's blunt and straight to the point, so why not give her a taste of her own medicine?

"The real reason I called you down here, has a lot to do with my family and their past with you."

A certain fire lights up in Bella's eyes and she leans back in her chair, crossing her arms defensively. "What about it?"

"Well," I start. "I don't know. I don't know what it is, but I'd like to."

Her left eyebrow rises. "You live in a house with people who could inform you, but you choose to come to me instead?"

Fuck. How do I explain that? "I figured, if you told me yourself then it would be with your consent. After all, you are my partner."

Bella sighs and rubs her temple with her fingers. "There's nothing really to explain. Rosalie and I were best friends since before I can even remember. In Grade 10, Emmett and your mom moved and the two of us started going out. He was my first… everything. Emmett and Rosalie never really got along that well, or maybe they did, I don't even know anymore."

I nod, encouraging her to keep going.

"Rosalie and I, while growing up, had both vowed to go to NYU together to escape Forks. We both grew up dreaming of being businesswomen in Manhattan. When the time for college applications came, I applied only to NYU. Your brother got several scholarships, but all of them out-west. It became pretty apparent that we weren't going to stay together much longer."

"So you guys broke up after prom?"

Bella snorts. "Technically, your brother and I never really broke up. One day I woke up to note from Rose saying that the two of them had run off together to go to ASU. The next time I saw them after that was at the wedding."

"Is that a joke, because it's not funny."

Bella sneers at me. "I agree, must be why I'm not laughing. Look, I only agreed to this so we could clear the air and start fresh. I want nothing to do with your family, with good reason. But I'm willing to forget you're a Cullen and move on."

"Thank you, Bella. Now, shall we dig in?" I ask wiggling my eyebrows dramatically, hoping to use humour to change the mood.

Thankfully, she throws her head back and laughs, sufficiently changing the entire atmosphere of our dinner. I mentally memorize the sound of her laughter and vow to do my best to hear it over and over again.

Deep down though, I contain the burning anger at my brother, his girlfriend, and my sister; no wonder they didn't want Bella at the wedding. Ha, Emmett didn't want me to hurt her. No wonder he felt so guilty. And Rosalie, oh Rosalie. Little miss perfect.

As much as I was enjoying every moment spent with Bella, I can't wait to get home and give my family a piece of my mind.

**A/N: I figured I would give you guys a treat and upload this chapter in Edward pov. The next few chapters will have very few Cullen moments in it, actually. I really want to build up the Bella/Edward relationship and focus more on Bella's life in New York. **

**Not to worry though, Bella will be reunited with the family soon. **

**Reviews make me happy. Love-A.**


	14. Then & Now

**A/N: **I don't own Twilight. Any similarities or references belong to their own persons.

The bed in Tanya's room was probably one of the biggest beds I'd ever seen in my life. In fact, most of Tanya's room was her bed. It couldn't even technically be classified as a bed as it was mostly just mattress that was the size of four king sized mattresses.

When she'd first gotten it, we'd all rolled our eyes at her and insisted that she was the most ridiculous person in the world. Honestly, who needs a mattress this big? At this very moment though, her mattress was perfect. The five of us were sprawled out on it, each of us doing our own thing while being together.

Tanya, who is nose deep in her Cosmopolitan magazine looks up suddenly. "_10 signs your co-worker is in to you," _she reads aloud, looking at me and raising her eyebrows suggestively. "Want me to read you the article, B?"

I roll my eyes at her. "No, because I absolutely do not have a co-worker that's interested in me. They're all like fifty, I swear."

Kate snorts. "Edward Cullen is fifty now, is he?"

"Oh. Him."

"So am I reading the article or no?"

"Just read it, T." Answers Irina, not even bothering to look up from her textbook.

"Okay," she clears her throat and sits up straight. "10. He is always bumping into you every now and then." Tanya looks up to glance at my facial expression, which remains neutral. "9. He brings you coffee regularly, or offers to grab you one as he gets his." I struggle to keep my expression neutral as I recall the machiatto waiting on my desk everyday for the past week and a half. "8. He takes his lunch break at the same time as you do. 7. He is curious about your life. 6. He often texts or emails you, just because. 5. He offers to carpool to work-"

"How does that mean he's in to you? It's better for the environment."

Tanya gapes at me. "Are you telling me you and Edward carpool?"

"No, of course not. We live in New York, I'm just saying."

"Whatever, Bella. 4. He's asked you about your childhood. 3. He's overly friendly, and only with you. 2. He's flirted once or twice, subtly. And 1. He's asked you out to dinner, claiming for it to be just as friends."

I blush, unable to stop the blood from flowing to my cheeks.

"Why are you blushing, Bella?" Asks Irina, who apparently isn't reading her textbook anymore.

Kate gasps. "Did you have dinner with Edward Cullen?"

Charlotte pipes up. "Is that where you went last week?"

Tanya let's loose a sound that could probably the vase on her table, if it were any closer. "Did anything else on that list match?"

"Maybe one or two of them." I lie easily.

Charlotte looks at me for a few seconds. "Bullshit. Don't lie to a psychology major, Bella."

My eyebrows pull together. "You're not a psychology major, Char."

She shrugs. "No, but I totally could've been."

I flip my body around and press my face into the cotton sheets of T's bed, allowing the pressure to calm my nerves down. I let myself take a few deep breaths before flopping back onto my back and grabbing the nearest pillow and hugging it to my chest.

"We had dinner together last week, it was nothing serious. He claimed he wanted to get to know me better since we were partners but really he just wanted to know what had really went down between me and his brother."

"He didn't know?" Irina asks, surprised.

I shrug. "I don't think so. He seemed really anxious to know."

"Did he pull the whole pity act after or did he defend his brother?" Char asks, turning over to play with my hair.

"No, he actually just continued on as if I hadn't told him anything. Which is perfect. It's in the past; I'd rather it stayed there. Like, I even told him that I didn't want that to interfere with our friendship."

"Friendship? Two minutes ago you two were only business partners." Teases Kate.

"Just wait another two minutes, soon they'll be dating."

I snort. "Doubt it, he seems like a major player."

Tanya shakes her head from beside me and looks me straight in the eye. "You can't just assume that based on his looks, Bella. What the hell."

"Its not just based on looks T." I snap at her. "I'm telling you, even at the wedding I could tell he was the type of guy to go home with a girl in each arm."

"What school did he go to again?" Char pipes up.

"ASU."

"I have a friend who went there! She joined some big sorority or whatever. She's pretty well known with the male population, I could ask her about him."

I frown and consider stopping her, but seeing as she's already fast at work texting her friend I let it go. Instead I focus on the thunderous noise coming from my stomach.

"Can we eat?"

"Let's go to that new place-"

"No," I moan shoving my face into the mattress. "I don't want to dress up and pretend I really want to eat my fries with a fork. Let's go to McDonald's."

"Can we order take-out? I don't want to leave this room."

"You're so lazy, Kate. How are you not fat?"

"Garrett keeps her bouncing"

I narrow my eyes at Kate. "Who is Garrett?"

"Can we go fucking eat?"

I sacrifice my cuddly pillow to launch it at Char's face. "Can you calm the fuck down? Who is Garrett?"

Irina, bless her soul, decides to answer me. "He's one of our family friends, Kate's always had a crush on him."

"I have a crush on no one. Let's go to McDonalds."

"Do you know how many calories there are in their burgers?"

"So what, T? Have a salad."

I scrunch my nose in distaste at the thought of salad at a fast food and try to get off of T's comfy bed. Now I'm kind of wishing we'd opted for take out instead.

"B, your phone's ringing."

I groan and twist my body around to open up grab my cellphone and bring it to my ear.

"Hello?"

"_Hey Bella, it's Edward." _

Shit. "Edward, hi." The squeals are immediate, giving me all the motivation I'd originally been lacking to get off of Tanya's bed and run into the closet and lock myself in, away from prying ears.

"_I was wondering if you were doing anything tonight." _

"I was probably going to head out to McDonald's with my girls." I admit sheepishly.

Laughter resonates from the other side of the call. _"Classy. Well in case you were up for it, I just wanted to tell you that one of my high school friends has opened a club downtown, in case you were interested in dropping by." _

If it's one of Edward's high school friends, Alice probably knows him. Also, knowing Rosalie and Emmett, they wouldn't miss this sort of thing for anything in the world.

"I'm gonna have to take a rain check on that." I answer apologetically. "Maybe next time?"

"_Sure." _He answers dejectedly.

We exchange brief goodbyes and I unlock myself and step out of the closet. Four girls are glaring at me with their arms crossed, and narrowed eyes.

"What just happened?"

"Nothing, he invited me to the opening of his friends club and I declined. Don't really feel like spending Friday night with his friends and family." I roll my eyes.

"Oh that new club downtown? Good thing you declined, it's a drag. Nothing like daddy's clubs." Tanya assures me.

Irina rolls her eyes at T and glances at me worriedly. "You and Edward will never be able to be together if you refuse to spend time with his family, B."

"I don't want to be with him."

The girls shoot me a series of looks, all of which basically show that they don't believe a word I say. I stick my tongue out childishly and follow them down the hall towards the elevator.

The walk to McDonald's is short, seeing as there is one at every few minutes. The waiting time until I have those fries and burgers in my mouth is even shorter. And then, I'm in heaven.

I eat the fries five at a time. "Sorry T, but no five star restaurant can beat these."

She rolls her eyes at me, even though I know she silently agrees.

Charlotte takes a huge bite out of her Big Mac before shrieking excitedly. "My friend replied! Wait, let me just unlock my phone." She does so and takes a few moments to read her text. Her face falls and I know of its content before she even decides to read it. "She knows him. Apparently he was a major player in college."

Kate shakes her head. "So? That's college. Who wasn't a major player in college."

"I wasn't a major player in college."

"Yeah, but you're from the south."

I snort at Kate's shitty reasoning methods.

Tanya takes a sip of her coke before glancing at me pointedly. "Listen, Bella. I can admit it. No one was a bigger slut in college than I was. But that's what it was, college. Just because Edward Cullen slept around in college doesn't mean he still does."

"_You_ still do."

"Yes," she admits. "But I'd stop if I had a male Bella Swan in my life."

I roll my eyes, for about the fortieth time in the past hour and content myself with eating my burger, in peace. Running my fingers through my hair, I think back at my own past.

Anyone who had known me in Forks would've had a lot to say about me, and none of them would've been positive things. None of them would've been things proving me worthy of the job, the friends, or the lifestyle I have at this point.

If people made opinions of me based on what I'd done a few years ago, I wouldn't have many friends. Or, maybe I would, but they wouldn't be very good friends with goals and such. So maybe, it's the same with Edward Cullen.

Maybe, despite his shitty past and unfortunate family, he's a pretty decent person. If anything, I owed him the chance to try.

"Besides, Bella." Irina starts out. "Just because Cosmo says he's into you, doesn't mean he actually is."

Oh yeah. There's also that.

**A/N: There you go! I know most of you wanted to see the Edward/family confrontation, and you will! That's my promise to you, you will. Just not in this chapter since this was in Bella POV and I really don't like having multiple POV's in one chapter. **

**Let me know if you guys would rather I keep doing things how I do them now (mostly in Bella POV with the occasional look on the other side) OR if you'd rather I let you in to the Cullen POV more often. (Say once every few chapters)**

**Reviews make me happy, and update faster. Love –A.**


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